[House Report 112-474]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]


112th Congress                                                   Report
                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
 2d Session                                                     112-474

======================================================================


 
AMENDING THE MESQUITE LANDS ACT OF 1986 TO FACILITATE IMPLEMENTATION OF 
A MULTISPECIES HABITAT CONSERVATION PLAN FOR THE VIRGIN RIVER IN CLARK 
                             COUNTY, NEVADA

                                _______
                                

  May 10, 2012.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the 
              State of the Union and ordered to be printed

                                _______
                                

 Mr. Hastings of Washington, from the Committee on Natural Resources, 
                        submitted the following

                              R E P O R T

                        [To accompany H.R. 2745]

      [Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

    The Committee on Natural Resources, to whom was referred 
the bill (H.R. 2745) to amend the Mesquite Lands Act of 1986 to 
facilitate implementation of a multispecies habitat 
conservation plan for the Virgin River in Clark County, Nevada, 
having considered the same, report favorably thereon with an 
amendment and recommend that the bill as amended do pass.
    The amendment is as follows:
  Strike all after the enacting clause and insert the 
following:

SECTION 1. AMENDMENT TO THE MESQUITE LANDS ACT OF 1986.

  Section 3 of Public Law 99-548 (commonly known as the ``Mesquite 
Lands Act of 1986'') is amended--
          (1) in subsection (d)(3)(B), by inserting ``and 
        implementation'' after ``development'';
          (2) in subsection (e)--
                  (A) in paragraph (1)(A), by striking ``For a period 
                of 12 years after the date of the enactment of this 
                Act,'' and inserting ``Until November 29, 2020,'';
                  (B) in paragraph (3), by striking ``Not later than 10 
                years after the date of the enactment of this 
                subsection,'' and inserting ``Not later than November 
                29, 2019,''; and
                  (C) in paragraph (5), by striking ``the date that is 
                12 years after the date of the enactment of this 
                subsection,'' and inserting ``the date specified in 
                paragraph (1)(A),''; and
          (3) in subsection (f)--
                  (A) in paragraph (1), by striking ``Not later than 1 
                year after the date of the enactment of this 
                subsection, the'' and inserting ``The'';
                  (B) in paragraph (2), by inserting after subparagraph 
                (C) the following:
                  ``(D) The approximately 218 acres of land depicted as 
                `Hiatus' on the map titled `Mesquite Airport 
                Conveyance' and dated January, 13, 2012.'';
                  (C) in paragraph (3), by striking ``until the date 
                that is 12 years after the date of the enactment of 
                this subsection,'' and inserting ``until November 29, 
                2020,'';
                  (D) by amending paragraph (4) to read as follows:
          ``(4) Reverter.--If the land conveyed pursuant to paragraph 
        (1) is not used by the city as an airport or for another public 
        purpose, it shall revert to the United States, at the option of 
        the Secretary, except that the city shall have an exclusive 
        right to purchase such land.''; and
                  (E) by redesignating paragraph (5) as paragraph (7) 
                and by inserting after paragraph (4) the following:
          ``(5) Right to purchase land.--Until November 29, 2020, the 
        City of Mesquite, Nevada, subject to all appropriate 
        environmental reviews, including compliance with the National 
        Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4331 et. seq.) and 
        the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et. seq.), 
        shall have the exclusive right to purchase the parcels of 
        public land described in paragraph (2) that the Secretary did 
        not convey to the city pursuant to paragraph (1).
          ``(6) Proceeds of sale.--The proceeds of the sale of each 
        parcel under this subsection shall be deposited into the 
        General Treasury.''.

                          Purpose of the Bill

    The purpose of H.R. 2745, as ordered reported, is to amend 
the Mesquite Lands Act of 1986 to facilitate implementation of 
a multispecies habitat conservation plan for the Virgin River 
in Clark County, Nevada.

                  Background and Need for Legislation

    The Mesquite Lands Act of 1986 (Public Law 99-548) was 
amended by Section 121 of Public Law 104-208 to afford the City 
of Mesquite, Nevada, the exclusive right to purchase certain 
federal land under the control of the Bureau of Land Management 
(BLM), at not less than fair market value for a period of 12 
years. On October 24, 1996, these public lands were segregated 
from all forms of appropriation under the public land laws, 
including the general mining laws, until September 29, 2008. 
The Mesquite Lands Act was further amended by Public Law 106-
113 on November 29, 1999, with the specific purpose of 
conveying land to construct a commercial airport and to provide 
more room for commercial and industrial development to meet 
future demands for its citizens and a rapidly growing tourism 
industry. The 1999 amendment provided a timeframe of 12 years 
for the conveyance to occur. The lands were subject to all 
existing rights but were withdrawn from all forms of entry and 
appropriation under the public land laws, including the mining 
laws, and from operation of the mineral leasing and geothermal 
leasing laws for a period of 12 years after the date of the 
enactment. The authority to obtain the parcels of land made 
available by the Mesquite Lands Act expired in November 2011.
    H.R. 2745 will amend the Mesquite Lands Act of 1986 to 
extend the timeline for Mesquite to purchase select parcels and 
identify land to be conveyed for use as an airport in Clark 
County, Nevada. This will provide more room for commercial and 
industrial development to meet future demands for its citizens 
and a rapidly growing tourism industry. The bill also corrects 
an inadvertent omission in the Clark County Conservation of 
Public Land and Natural Resources Act of 2002 (Public Law 107-
282) to allow for the implementation of the Virgin River 
Habitat Conservation and Recovery Plan and the Hydrologic 
Monitoring and Mitigation Plan.
    During full committee consideration of the bill, the 
Committee approved an amendment offered by Congressman Rob 
Bishop (R-UT) that strikes an expired timing requirement that 
expired after one year of its original enactment, corrects 
another date reference to mirror the extensions to November 29, 
2020 in the underlying bill and accounts for an approximately 
218 acre parcel situated between the other parcels under 
consideration by Mesquite, Nevada, which BLM noted has been 
inadvertently overlooked due to survey errors. Finally, the 
amendment allowed for Mesquite to purchase, at fair market 
value, any of the acreage identified for the potential airport 
conveyance that is not ultimately used for an airport. Any 
proceeds from the sale of this acreage will be deposited into 
the General Treasury.
    To address a potential and unintended cost stemming from 
the diversion of proceeds from the sale of land in Subsection E 
(Fifth area), the committee will offer an amendment when the 
bill is considered by the House to direct the proceeds to the 
General Treasury. Identical language was used to direct the 
proceeds from potential lands sales in Subsection F (Sixth 
area) and will ensure that there is no cost to the taxpayer. 
This corrective amendment will eliminate the direct spending 
identified in the Congressional Budget Office score of the 
bill.

                            Committee Action

    H.R. 2745 was introduced on August 1, 2011, by Congressman 
Joseph Heck (R-NV). The bill was referred to the Committee on 
Natural Resources, and within the Committee to the Subcommittee 
on National Parks, Forests and Public Lands. On December 2, 
2011, the Subcommittee held a hearing on the bill. On February 
29, 2012, the Full Natural Resources Committee met to consider 
the bill. The Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests and 
Public Lands was discharged by unanimous consent. Congressman 
Rob Bishop (R-UT) offered amendment designated .965 to the 
bill; the amendment was approved by voice vote. The bill, as 
amended, was then adopted and ordered favorably reported to the 
House of Representatives by voice vote.

            Committee Oversight Findings and Recommendations

    Regarding clause 2(b)(1) of rule X and clause 3(c)(1) of 
rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives, the 
Committee on Natural Resources' oversight findings and 
recommendations are reflected in the body of this report.

                    Compliance With House Rule XIII

    1. Cost of Legislation. Clause 3(d)(1) of rule XIII of the 
Rules of the House of Representatives requires an estimate and 
a comparison by the Committee of the costs which would be 
incurred in carrying out this bill. However, clause 3(d)(2)(B) 
of that rule provides that this requirement does not apply when 
the Committee has included in its report a timely submitted 
cost estimate of the bill prepared by the Director of the 
Congressional Budget Office under section 402 of the 
Congressional Budget Act of 1974. Under clause 3(c)(3) of rule 
XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives and section 
403 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, the Committee has 
received the following cost estimate for this bill from the 
Director of the Congressional Budget Office:

H.R. 2745--A bill to amend the Mesquite Lands Act of 1986 to facilitate 
        implementation of a multispecies habitat conservation plan for 
        the Virgin River in Clark County, Nevada

    H.R. 2745 would give the city of Mesquite, Nevada, the 
exclusive right to purchase certain federal lands administered 
by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). The bill also would 
authorize BLM and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) to 
spend a portion of the proceeds from those sales on specified 
activities. Based on information provided by the affected 
agencies, CB0 estimates that implementing H.R. 2745 would 
increase direct spending by $3 million over the 2012-2022 
period; therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures apply. Enacting 
H.R. 2745 would not affect revenues.
    Based on information from BLM and the city of Mesquite, CBO 
expects that, under current law, the affected lands would be 
sold under the Federal Land Policy and Management Act (FLPMA). 
CBO estimates that proceeds from those sales would total about 
$7 million over the 2012-2020 period. Under FLPMA, 96 percent 
of all proceeds from lands sales are deposited in the U.S. 
Treasury. Because H.R. 2745 would authorize BLM and USFWS to 
spend roughly half of those proceeds, without further 
appropriation, to pay for certain administrative costs and to 
implement a multispecies habitat conservation plan in Clark 
County, Nevada, CB0 estimates that implementing the bill would 
increase direct spending.
    H.R. 2745 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector 
mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and 
would impose no costs on state, local, or tribal governments.
    The CB0 staff contact for this estimate is Jeff LaFave. The 
estimate was approved by Theresa Gullo, Deputy Assistant 
Director for Budget Analysis.
    2. Section 308(a) of Congressional Budget Act. As required 
by clause 3(c)(2) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of 
Representatives and section 308(a) of the Congressional Budget 
Act of 1974, this bill does not contain any new budget 
authority, credit authority, or an increase or decrease in 
revenues or tax expenditures. Based on information provided by 
the affected agencies, CBO estimates that implementing H.R. 
2745 would increase direct spending by $3 million over the 
2012-2022 period; therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures apply. 
Enacting H.R. 2745 would not affect revenues.
    3. General Performance Goals and Objectives. As required by 
clause 3(c)(4) of rule XIII, the general performance goal or 
objective of this bill, as ordered reported, is to amend the 
Mesquite Lands Act of 1986 to facilitate implementation of a 
multispecies habitat conservation plan for the Virgin River in 
Clark County, Nevada.

                           Earmark Statement

    This bill does not contain any Congressional earmarks, 
limited tax benefits, or limited tariff benefits as defined 
under clause 9(e), 9(f), and 9(g) of rule XXI of the Rules of 
the House of Representatives.

                    Compliance With Public Law 104-4

    This bill contains no unfunded mandates as defined under 
Public Law 104-4.

                Preemption of State, Local or Tribal Law

    This bill is not intended to preempt any State, local or 
tribal law.

         Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported

  In compliance with clause 3(e) of rule XIII of the Rules of 
the House of Representatives, changes in existing law made by 
the bill, as reported, are shown as follows (existing law 
proposed to be omitted is enclosed in black brackets, new 
matter is printed in italic, existing law in which no change is 
proposed is shown in roman):

                SECTION 3 OF THE ACT OF OCTOBER 27, 1986

                          (Public Law 99-548)

   AN ACT To transfer certain real property to the City of Mesquite, 
                                Nevada.

SEC. 3. NOTIFICATION AND SALE PERIODS.

  (a) * * *

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *

  (d) Fourth Area.--(1) * * *

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *

          (3) Use of proceeds.--The proceeds of the sale of 
        each parcel completed after the date of enactment of 
        this subsection shall be deposited in the special 
        account established under section 4(e)(1)(C) of the 
        Southern Nevada Public Land Management Act of 1998 (112 
        Stat. 2345); and shall be available for use by the 
        Secretary--
                  (A) * * *
                  (B) for the development and implementation of 
                a multispecies habitat conservation plan for 
                the Virgin River in Clark County, Nevada, 
                including any associated groundwater monitoring 
                plan; and

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *

  (e) Fifth Area.--
          (1) Right to purchase.--
                  (A) In general.--[For a period of 12 years 
                after the date of the enactment of this Act,] 
                Until November 29, 2020, the City of Mesquite, 
                Nevada, subject to all appropriate 
                environmental reviews, including compliance 
                with the National Environmental Policy Act and 
                the Endangered Species Act, shall have the 
                exclusive right to purchase the parcels of 
                public land described in paragraph (2).

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *

          (3) Notification.--[Not later than 10 years after the 
        date of the enactment of this subsection,] Not later 
        than November 29, 2019, the city shall notify the 
        Secretary which of the parcels of public land described 
        in paragraph (2) the city intends to purchase.

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *

          (5) Withdrawal.--Subject to valid existing rights, 
        until [the date that is 12 years after the date of the 
        enactment of this subsection,] the date specified in 
        paragraph (1)(A), the parcels of public land described 
        in paragraph (2) are withdrawn from all forms of entry 
        and appropriation under the public land laws, including 
        the mining laws, and from operation of the mineral 
        leasing and geothermal leasing laws.

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *

  (f) Sixth Area.--
          (1) In general.--[Not later than 1 year after the 
        date of the enactment of this subsection, the] The 
        Secretary shall convey to the City of Mesquite, Nevada, 
        in accordance with section 47125 of title 49, United 
        States Code, and subject to all appropriate 
        environmental reviews, including compliance with the 
        National Environmental Policy Act and the Endangered 
        Species Act, up to 2,560 acres of public land to be 
        selected by the city from among the parcels of land 
        described in paragraph (2).
          (2) Land description.--The parcels of land referred 
        to in paragraph (1) are as follows:
                  (A) * * *

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *

                  (D) The approximately 218 acres of land 
                depicted as ``Hiatus'' on the map titled 
                ``Mesquite Airport Conveyance'' and dated 
                January 13, 2012.
          (3) Withdrawal.--Subject to valid existing rights, 
        [until the date that is 12 years after the date of the 
        enactment of this subsection,] until November 29, 2020, 
        the parcels of public land described in paragraph (2) 
        are withdrawn from all forms of entry and appropriation 
        under the public land laws, including the mining laws, 
        and from operation of the mineral leasing and 
        geothermal leasing laws.
          [(4) If the land conveyed pursuant to this section is 
        not utilized by the city as an airport, it shall revert 
        to the United States, at the option of the Secretary.]
          (4) Reverter.--If the land conveyed pursuant to 
        paragraph (1) is not used by the city as an airport or 
        for another public purpose, it shall revert to the 
        United States, at the option of the Secretary, except 
        that the city shall have an exclusive right to purchase 
        such land.
          (5) Right to purchase land.--Until November 29, 2020, 
        the City of Mesquite, Nevada, subject to all 
        appropriate environmental reviews, including compliance 
        with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 
        U.S.C. 4331 et. seq.) and the Endangered Species Act of 
        1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et. seq.), shall have the 
        exclusive right to purchase the parcels of public land 
        described in paragraph (2) that the Secretary did not 
        convey to the city pursuant to paragraph (1).
          (6) Proceeds of sale.--The proceeds of the sale of 
        each parcel under this subsection shall be deposited 
        into the General Treasury.
          [(5)] (7) Nothing in this section shall preclude the 
        Secretary from applying appropriate terms and 
        conditions as identified by the required environmental 
        review to any conveyance made under this section.

                                  
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